Our Nights
by Articulate Darkness
Summary: Haven't you heard the rumors? It’s haunted. There's probably ghost in there and you wanna stay til morning'; And it was just Paul's luck that he ended up getting trapped. In the Old Chateau. Alone. With that annoying rival of his. Eventual Comashipping.


**Title: **Our Nights  
**Pairing: **Eventual Comashipping–Paul x Ash  
**Summary: **'Haven't you heard the rumors? It's haunted. There's probably ghost in there and all sort of creepy things, and you wanna stay 'til morning?'; And it was just Paul's luck that he ended up getting trapped. In the Old Chateau. Alone. With that annoying rival of his. Eventual comashipping.  
**A/N: **This doesn't fit into the current timeline of Pokemon D/P. This story is definitely different from all the others I've written so far–oh wow, no raping of angst! And it's not a one-shot or a drabble...lawlz, it's like being completely out of my element. Lame, I know. Please tell me what you think, feedback would be greatly loved. I'll probably end up killing that title later on.

_X X X_

"I'm not going in there." Dawn murmured in a matter-of-fact voice as her friend happily began running towards the abandoned mansion. Brock looked back at her and only shrugged.

"Oh come _on_, guys." Ash started, turning around to face them. ...Hm? He blinked; he could have sworn they were a lot closer before. But no, the two were at least eight feet away from him. "You guys are being babies. It's not going to be that bad, I promise!"

Dawn scoffed and came out from her hiding place behind Brock. She quickly looked around before crossing her arms. "_That bad_, you say. Haven't you heard the rumors? It's _haunted_." She did the best scary face she could come up with: tongue sticking out, eyes narrowed and both hands at the side of her head.

Ash just laughed, "Nice face, Dawn. But fine, if you guys don't wanna follow me in, then you don't have to."

"Then we won't." She answered back before Brock could open his mouth. She quickly latched onto the breeder's arm and pulled him close to her. "C'mon, Brock, let's go. This place is already creeping me out."

"You sure you don't need us, Ash?"

The trainer shook his head at Brock's question and gave both his friends a nonchalant wave. "It's all good. I'll see you guys tomorrow morning, then."

"Tomorrow morning?!" Dawn all but screamed, gaping at him.

"Uh, sure, I think so," He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "It's already late, and I doubt I'll be able to find a strong Pokemon in a couple'a hours..."

"You're gonna spend the night in that mansion? Didn't you hear what I said before? It's _haunted_."

Well, apparently someone already had his mind made up. Brock sighed; no use arguing, then. "Alright, if you say so. We'll meet up at the Pokemon Center in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah, gotcha Brock." And, after allowing Pikachu to wave at them, Ash turned around and faced the front door.

"You sure he'll be okay?" Dawn asked, a look of concern covered her face.

"Hah, of course. We've seen our share of haunted houses in our days. Ash'll be fine, don't worry yourself. You see..." Brock started to recount their various run-ins with places just like the Old Chateau as the two made their way out of Eterna Forest.

"Good times..." He muttered to Pikachu before trying for the door. But something (or rather, some_one_) stopped him from going inside,

"You aren't _serious_." Came a...very pissed voice from behind.

Ash froze–he knew that voice. And, with a groan of his own, he turned around a bit and saw his rival standing in front of the bushes he'd cut down earlier. "Hello Paul." He greeted in a less-than-sociable manner. "What are you doing here?"

Paul simply glared at him for a few seconds before huffing. He walked up to where Ash was and reached for the doorhandle. With a small push, the door slowly creaked open and the light from inside the mansion flooded out into the dark night.

"Hey." Ash growled, following the other trainer inside. "Aren't you even gonna answer my question?"

Paul continued to ignore him; he just looked around, studying the house with narrowed eyes. Ash, with jaw clenched, slammed the door behind him. He seriously was _not_ going to be stuck with him, was he?

"What the hell do you think I'm here for?" Paul finally said, without looking back at him.

Ash tilted his head upward–and that's when he caught the first glimpse of the lopsided chandelier hanging directly overhead. With a nervous laugh, he moved himself up closer. "You're here to catch some strong Pokemon, right?"

"Exactly." Well, that response came quickly. "So stay out of my way, got that?"

A roll of the eyes was the only answer Ash gave Paul. After muttering a few things to Pikachu, he walked forward, leaving the other teen standing by himself.

_X X X_

Not that Paul really cared if he left him, or anything. He watched as the other slowly ascended the steps. ...As long as he didn't get in his way...

He looked forward; well, since Ash was going upstairs, he might as well try his luck on the ground floor. Mind made up, Paul shoved his hands into his pockets and walked towards the dark entranceway.

Or...at least it _seemed_ dark. As he neared the next room, it slowly began to get lighter and lighter. It wasn't until Paul finally reached it did he notice the next room was really the mansion's dining area. Raising an eyebrow, he carefully walked inside and looked around.

A few feet in front of him was a long–very long–dining table, with a dirtied white cloth covering the length of its top. And there were, after counting, at least 13 seats all together–and, at both ends, were chairs with designs more elaborate than the others.

Paul made his way to one end and just stared down at it. Unlike the others, this one was cushioned with some sort of red velvet. He snorted; well, whoever were the heads of this mansion certainly did think highly of themselves.

With a shake of his head, he directed his attention next to the small kitchen located to the left. _Hm, I wonder if they have some food in here to eat. _But that thought instantly repulsed him. That's right, this was an _abandoned _mansion. Any food left over would, most certainly, be rotten. Paul, though, ever curious, went on with his inspection and wrapped his hand around the refrigerator's handle.

However, his examination was soon cut short when a high-pitched scream flooded the manor. Reaching for one of his Pokeballs, Paul twirled around and quickly surveyed the room. ...wait a minute, that scream...

His eyes narrowed as he heard thundering footsteps approaching. But he was ready: with a flick of his wrist, he tossed out his Magmar.

...But, for some reason, it didn't come out. Come to think of it, the ball never enlarged either. Completely frustrated now, Paul reach towards the ground, snatched up his Magmar and reached behind his belt for another one.

Apparently he was too late. Because now, whatever the hell that had been running down the stairs, was in front of him. Paul jumped to his feet, clenched his fists...

And groaned.

Huffing and puffing as he knelt on the ground was Ash. His Pikachu rolled off from his shoulder and fell onto the floor.

He stared down at him, utterly pissed off. "That was you screaming, wasn't it?"

After taking a few more seconds to catch his breath, Ash, with a completely flushed face, looked upward. "I just sa-"

"I could care less!" Paul snapped back, interrupting him. "Don't go around yelling like that, you _idiot_. You're going to scare away all the Pokemon."

Ash continued as if the other's outburst meant nothing. "This place really _is_ haunted! I w-went upstairs, right, and went into this roo–hey! You're not even listening."

Indeed, Paul wasn't. As soon as Ash had started talking, he had deftly moved passed him and was now making his way out of the room. Much to his displeasure, the black-haired teen caught up to him.

"Where are you going?"

Paul narrowed his eyes, furrowed his brows and turned his head upward. Upstairs, huh? Apparently that idiot had seen something up there...

"For some reason," Ash continued, not caring if the other trainer answered him or not. "When I sent out Chimchar, my Pokeball never opened."

_So the same thing happened to you too? _Well, that was weird. But he decided to remain silent and listen to what else Ash had to say. Once he reached the steps and started to climb them, Paul noticed that Ash wasn't coming after him. He turned around and shot the other an inquisitive look.

"I'm not going up there, man." His Pikachu nodded at its trainer's words. "It's creepy upstairs."

"Creepy, as in how?"

"I told you before, this place really is haunted. I just went into this room with a picture...and I didn't see anything," Ash closed his eyes and frowned, "And when I walked out, I saw this little girl with pigtails walking around. I asked her what she was doing..." He trailed off, though, and simply pointed a shaky finger behind him.

It was the scared expression on the teen's face that actually made Paul turn back around. But he didn't see anything. "There's nothing...what the hell are you pointing at?"

"There's _nothing_?!" He yelled, skipping a few steps so that now he was directly behind the purple-haired trainer. "You don't see anything? She's right there, where the hallway is, right behind that banister."

Okay...now Ash was really starting to agitate him. Grumbling, he carefully followed the place where the trainer was pointing to with his eyes. Paul lowered his eyelids and continued staring at the area between the two, wooden beams of the decaying banister. Sure enough, there was a small girl staring right back at them.

She cocked her head inquisitively and stared down at them with an expressionless face. Pikachu drew back and growled lowly.

But it was so far away that Paul knew his eyes _had_ to be playing tricks on him. _I have to be imagining things. _He thought, taking two steps at a time as he ascended them. He _had_ to be imagining...

Once he reached the top step, Paul stopped abruptly, causing Ash to crash into his back. With a loud gasp, the two fell forward and collapsed onto the ground. Muttering a few curses, Paul pushed the older teen off him and scrambled to his feet, running to where the little girl was standing.

Or, where she _had_ been standing.

"I tried to tell you earlier," Came Ash's small voice. "When I called out to her, she ignored me and just walked away. Walked straight into that wall, right down there."

How the hell did Ash get so close to him again? Paul shook his head and faced him. _He looks completely scared._ And he would have laughed right in the idiot's face, if he himself wasn't so freaked.

But, of course, he didn't show it. Instead Paul scoffed and closed his eyes. "Maybe it was a bad choice, coming here at night. Especially since you're here..." He reopened them and gazed at him, "We should go then. I'll just come back here tomorrow. And next time, make sure you leave your ass at home." Without saying any more, he pushed past him and walked back down.

Ash, uncharacteristically quiet, followed after him.

Throughout this whole short ordeal, Paul had managed to keep a calm countenance. But that all left him when they reached the front door, and found it locked. Gritting his teeth, Paul tried for the handle again and pulled back.

No such luck. He drew away and started kicking at it. Again, nothing. "Just what the hell is happening?" He whispered to himself, reaching for one of his Pokemon. He pulled out Murkrow's ball and pressed the button.

The Pokeball stayed the same size. Paul blinked once and turned to stare at Ash. The kid had a totally dumbfounded expression on his face.

"None of your Pokeballs work either, right?"

"No...I mean, I only tried Chimchar..." Ash unhooked one of his own, "Go! Turtwig!"

It wasn't as if he expected it to work, but Paul was still disappointed when the Pokeball just landed on the ground and laid there. That stupid face of Ash's came back full force.

"Try Pikachu, then."

"And do what?"

A shrug, "Make it use an attack."

Ash thought for a second before snapping his fingers. "That might work. I mean...the door is pretty old. Okay, Pikachu! Try Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaa..." It began storing up electricity. "Chuu!" Paul had to quickly get out of the way before the Pokemon's attack ended up hitting him.

A large, black mark appeared on the door. ...Didn't work, no surprise there. But it _was_ a surprise when the damage quickly disappeared.

"Uh...Paul..."

"Damn it. Try something else, then."

"Okay, Iron Tail!"

Whatever amount of time passed was completely lost to the three. It was Volt Tackle, after Iron Tail after Thunderbolt. And each attack ended up with the same result: a small break, a large crack, a black singe; immediately afterwards, the door would mysteriously 'heal' itself.

"We should stop now." Ash finally offered, after they tried the same tactic a few more times.

Paul glowered back at him, "Why the hell should we? You want to spend the rest of the night in _here_?"

Ash just glared right back. "Pikachu's getting tired," That was true. The electric mouse was laying down on its side now, catching its breath. "Besides, nothing's happening. Maybe we should look around..."

"Another exit?" Paul muttered. He rolled his eyes at that. "Did you see anything upstairs?"

"Nope. Come to think of it, there weren't any windows either..."

Cracking his knuckles, Paul directed his attention back up to the banister. "The dining place is a one-room room. I didn't see a door while I was in there."

"Don't tell me we're stuck here!"

The fear in Ash's voice almost made Paul laugh. _Almost._ "I guess we are. For the night. Hah, what? Are you scared? How pathetic."

Upon hearing that question, Ash clenched his fist and stomped a foot on the ground. "No! Of course not. I'm a lil' freaked out, is all."

_Really now? _The purple-haired trainer smirked; what a terrible liar. But he refrained on calling the other out. Instead, he began making his way up to the staircase opposite the one they came down before.

Ash hesitated, but (like before) chased after him after little deliberation. "Where are we going?"

"Upstairs."

"_Why_?"

"Well, this is a mansion. I'm sure there's a place for us to rest–so show it to me. Since you've already looked around up there."

"I'm NOT going up there again."

"Suit yourself." He started walking up the stairs, "You and your Pikachu can stay down here all by yourself." Of course, all of Paul's taunting was just a cover-up. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he wanted his annoying rival to come up with him.

"You'll be all alone." He went on, stopping once he reached the top. "And who knows if there are anymore ghosts roaming around this plac–"

"Shut-up already!" Ash hissed, running up after him. "I'm coming, I'm coming."

And Paul breathed a sigh of relief...


End file.
